Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Questions about Trip to S. Africa in July

I am headed to Kimberley, South Africa in July for a plains game hunt. This will be my first trip to S. Africa. My plans are to harvest the following: Zebra, Kudo, Impala, Gemsbok, and Hardabest. Here is my first question. I am planning on letting my taxidermist here in the states do my work. So I know I will have to do the dip and ship deal. What kind of money am I looking at for the dip and ship plus shipping? Second question is would you advise to have the immunization shots for South Africa?

Thanks

banded

i live about 100km's from Kimberley. there is no need for immunizations. i think the last one i had was when i was 5. there is no funny diseases over here, not even malaria. Kby has a lot of hospitals: government as well as private state of the art hospitals. there is a couple of world renowned hunting lodges and i am sure you will have the time of your live.

ship/pack/crate is always a minefield to get an exact price pinned down. I would think your outfitter could advise you on approximate costs. As far as shots, the only thing I'd get is a tetanus booster. I went over board last year, and also got hep A/B, as well as the booster for tetanus.

maddog

We hunted near Kimberly 2 years ago with Nihan Engelbrecht of huntersgame safari's. We had out taxidermy done my red dune taxidermy very near by and they did a good job.

In July make sure you bring some warm clothes, it was very near freezing in the mornings and after dark. It was kind of weird, during the day we had to go outside the house to warm up in the sun, the houses are built with thick walls to keep them cool and it really works in the winter. We wore out early winter coats until about 10:00 am each day in the back of the hunting truck.

Enjoy.

You might consider having the work done in SA. It costs a lot less, and you don't pay for dipping. Shipping isn't all that much more than shipping skulls, horns, and hides. I worked it out years ago, and I save about 1/2 what it would cost to ship hides here and have the heads done in the US. There are some excellent taxidermists in RSA.

There are indeed excellent taxidermists in RSA and they used to be cheaper than the US done work. Not now. The rates I was quoted were higher than my guy in Texas and the shipping was a very iffy rate based on rapidly escalating fuel costs.
I have always had my work done there but this time I had them dipped an shipped. It was a little cheaper but it will really come down to shipping.

I had my taxidermy done by Red Dune Taxidermy in Jacobsdal and shipped by air to Saskatchewan (where they live until I get a non-government owned house). I can't recall the price right now but it was quite reasonable and we had our mounts back in 7 months from drop off to delivery. I believe Martin had his done there as well. I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out, though my Blesbok's ears aren't what I would like them to be. He kinda looks alarmed. But then again, I'd look scared if some bugger looking like me drew down on me with Mr Rigby's 416!

Banded,
I'll simply try to answer your questions and not try to convince you to do your taxidermy in RSA (a good decision on your part IMO).

Approximate cost for dip and pack can range anywhere from $200-800, depending on how many and how big of animals you take. Most of the RSA outfitters should be able to give you a good estimate prior to you booking. However, for planning purposes, I would use $5-600. For shipping, again it will be dependant upon how many animals and how big, since the price will depend on the box size. I had a box that had a chargeable weight of 55 Kgs and that cost me around $1200 to get it out of Zimbabwe almost 2 years ago. From RSA, I would think it would be cheaper, so would count on around $1000. You're also going to have customs clearing fees, etc. probably around $2-300. Not cheap. Most people that tout Africa as being cheaper to hunt than NA game usually don't factor these costs into the equation, although I will say that shipping trophies home in the US is not a cheap matter either. If you call someone like Coppersmith or Fauna and Flora, I would bet they can give you some good guidance on all of these costs since they have much experience.

As for immunization shots, just check with your regular doctor or a travel clinic that your doctor might put you in touch with. Some place on the Eastern Cape are malaria free, so you won't have to worry about pills if you're hunting there. The places up north, though, will still require them. I've heard of people getting all kinds of different shots to go to RSA and others that hardly get any. Just listen to your doctor. You can also get educated a little bit by doing a search on the web and they will give you the US government recommended immunization list for whatever country you're traveling to.

If you're looking at other costs that aren't readily apparent, consider also lodging & meals,both before and after your hunt, tips, taxidermy, trip insurance, souveniers, overweight luggage fees, and any government taxes while in country.

Hope this helps,
Test

Banded,

I hunted RSA (Eastern Cape) in July of last year. My research prior to leaving convinced me to have taxidermy work done in USA. There ARE excellent taxidermists in RSA, but there are quite a few which have unskilled laborers do most of the work, instead of the "artists" you can easily find in the USA. I was not impressed with the work I saw in the area I hunted, and the taxidermist that did the dip & pack for my trophies messed up several pretty bad.
Also, taxidermists in Africa do not have the quality materials available to them like we have in USA; or so I've been told. An example would be that they have to make their own forms for shldr mounts, etc., where in the USA there are several companies that make a large variety of forms for taxidermists to select from.
Anyway, here are the costs I incurred for 1 Kudu, 1 Blk Wildebeest, 2 Impala, 2 Bushbuck:
Dip & Pack - $740. (included a $175. "paperwork" charge)
Shipping - $740. Port Elizabeth, RSA to Houston Airport
Customs Broker - $462.50 (Govt Clearance & Delivery to Tannery)

I was not required to get any shots, but definitely made sure my Tetanus and Hep A&B were current.

Hope this helps.

P.S.
If you see rain collection barrels outside the place you're staying, DON'T drink the tap water unless the PH says it's OK. Our USA "systems" can't handle it.

elkjaeger

I have found the same thing. There is no big discount anymore. I once paid R800 for a shoulder mount, and a few years later it was US$800 for the same thing.

Furthermore, communication is tough, especially if there is any problem, and they choose not to take your calls. (He's not in.............).

Do it in the USA. I've done it both ways. Support the guys here.

I have just received my shipment from Namibia it went via boat. I had Fauna and Flora clear the trophies - Mt Zebra, Kudu, Gemsbok, Eland, Blesbok, Warthog total cost of shipping $800, F&F charges for clearance 200, inbound freight another 200, net $1400

First off your making a good move having all your work done in the USA, too many times taxidermy stuff can go south in a hurry and you don't want to be making trips to Africa to get it taken care of..If you have problems in the USA its right there to be fixed. I can name you a hundred disgruntley clients who had work done in Africa and many that faired well, but why take that chance.

I usually figure about $100 per head for dip and ship for unmounted stuff and thats usually pretty close, but with shipping and airlines you really never know..

A Tetnus shot is always a good idea for RSA, Malaria is optional there have been a few documented cases in that area and in all of Africa, but its rare. Check with your health care office locally and determine which shots you may want to take. I personally don't take any immunization for RSA.

Be prepared for cold and warm weather that time of year is always good advise..That area is beautiful and great hunting, I have hunted it many times..Don't miss the opertunity to hunt the Mt. Reedbok, and Vaal Rhebok, They are awesome to hunt in that area..

I guess my question is aimed at Ray Atkinson and anyone else who can help:
my wife may join me when I go to SA in a year or so and has no desire to hunt but does want to come back through Europe so she can do some things SWMBO wants to do. Is it possible to ship my guns directly back home to me without my going with them or can they be shipped with me through Frankfurt or London? Can I have them shipped directly to me or my LGS? And she is scared to death I am going to get malaria or something. The outfit I plan to use is about 3 hours south of the Zimbabwe border. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
fg

SWMBO?


FWIW, I asked about shipping our guns and ammo to RSA and my PH said only if you want me to be in jail when you get here...lol

Never looked into shipping them back, but a South African Doctor I know here had his guns shipped with his furniture when he moved to Alberta. Not sure how he did it exactly.

S=she
W=who
M=must
B=be
o=obeyed
i.e. wife
thanks for info

Thanks and I have one of those too. I have to go to greece and Italy before I get to go hunting again in Africa, same deal.

Thanks for all of the help and advice. I have decided to have all of my work done back here in the states. I talked to my PH and he said for the animals I want, he can have them done for $650 to $700. Then I will have shipping charges and other misc charges. But I just feel more comfortable with my reg taxidermist that has done all of my work to handle the mounts for this hunt. Who knows what the future will hold and how long it will be before I can go back..

Good plan. I had my mounts done by TransAfrican Taxidermy, and they are beautiful. But...I got them 28 months after I shot the animals. Shipping was estimated at $1800 when I commissioned the work (August 2006) and cost me $3,000 when they shipped (Dec 2008). So...even with the best of intentions and estimates at the time -- things change. Dipping and shipping to a qualified-to-do-African-game taxidermist in the USA would have saved me lots of bucks, and maybe some time.

On the other hand, I do have a giant exotic hardwood crate now... .

Dennis